"Hello, there! Dr. Gregory Wieck here with a proposition for you. I've been contacted recently by a group of investors who would like to purchase a small island in the South Pacific. They will not go into any detail, but they claim that there is a 'significant find' somewhere on the island, and they are the only ones who know about this. The island is currently owned by an international company who had wanted to develop it as a resort, but have reconsidered. They know nothing about the 'find', but will not allow any sort of major excavations or explorations on the island without first receiving a deposit from prospective buyers. I'm meeting with the owners this morning to pay the deposit, so I'd like you visit the island and see if you can locate the 'find' rather quickly. If you are successful in doing so, I'll gladly see that you benefit to the same degree that I and my fellow investors will. So, if you agree to help, be at the private airport downtown tomorrow at noon, look for the blimp." *CLICK*

I decided to "sleep on it", but slept fitfully with excitement and woke early. I arrived at the airport ahead of schedule, and was a little discouraged to see no sign of a blimp anywhere. As I was about to enter the control building and ask if anyone knew when a blimp was scheduled to arrive, a large blimp landed near one of the hangars. The word "Daisy" appears in black cursive along each side of the blimp, so I figure this must be it. After showing my ID at the gate, I approach the blimp and a tall man opens a side door and waves me inside. "Welcome," he says, "we leave immediately." We're standing in a tiny foyer-type chamber, and as he opens a door to enter the cockpit he nods toward a door opposite that one. As I open that door and enter a rectangular room, here is what I see:

A conference room style table with 4 chairs Seated in the chair facing me is a man wearing a scuba diving suit Seated to his left is a man dressed in tattered clothing Seated across from this man is a very short man wearing a tuxedo and holding a cane, wearing darkly tinted glasses In the center of the table is a manilla folder

Each of the 3 men are mumbling to themselves, and each has an expression of sadness, dispair and disbelief on their faces. As I approached the table, the short man abruptly stopped mumbling, turned his head slightly toward me and said, "We've been waiting for someone who is supposed to help us, is that why you're here?" As he was speaking, I felt the blimp gently rise into the sky. I'm guessing it's going to take a while to reach the island, so perhaps I have some preliminary work to do?

Ask the scuba man, the tattered man, and the tuxedo man who they are, what exactly they're after, and why they all look so different. "Who are you?" I say to the group. Without looking up, scuba man utters, "We've all been unfairly dealt with..." Tuxedo man nods and says, "Indeed. We're here because we can all use a simple bit of help and everything will be made right."

If you're allowed, check out the manila folder. As I reach for it, Tuxedo Man slams his cane down on the folder and pushes it to Tattered Man, who takes it and holds it against his chest. When he does this, I notice that Tattered Man is holding a pistol. "We've been instructed to only let you see what's in the folder after you've helped us," says Tux, "you're the only one who can use it anyway." Tattered Man and Scuba just continue to mumble, Tux is sitting still and silent now, not looking at me.

Ask them "What do you need help with?" "Can't say," says Scuba abruptly. "But you'll know when you've helped," adds Tatter, who still hasn't looked up and continues to mumble, as does Scuba. Tux quickly shifts his gaze to somewhere between Tatter and Scuba and says "No, we have orders not to say what help we need, but when we have all been helped..." he pauses and points his cane at Tatter, "you'll get what you need and won't have to bother with us anymore."

Hmmm...it seems that the group needs help, but can't tell me what kind of help they need. As we journey through the sky I start looking around the room. There are no furnishings besides the table and chairs, but several framed photographs on the wall:

One which shows jet plane wreckage in a forest One which shows a man driving a car while adjusting the radio dial, a look of panic on his face One of a man standing in the upper chamber of a lighthouse (this one is a poorly lit photo, apparently no flash was used and the large searchlight wasn't lit) One showing two men playing Monopoly, the man in the foreground has moved the car token onto a space with a hotel next to it and looks distressed while the man in the background cheers

Tell Scuba, Tatter, and Tux the solutions to the classics pictured. "Ok, here's the deal - the cabin in the woods is a cockpit and the plane crashed; the DJ's recording just stopped playing, thus blowing his alibi of being at work at the time of his wife's untimely murder; the lightswitch turned off the lamp at the lighthouse causing ships to crash; the 'car' is a Monopoly piece, and the man is broke because he'll have to use all of his money to pay the rent."

As I relayed this information, Tux listened intently, a slight grin on his face. Scuba seems mostly bewildered, and Tatter is using his free hand (the one not clutching the pistol) to use a handkerchief to wipe tears from his eyes. "Ah, so you know how to help the folks in these photos, but what about us?" Tux asks, now staring down at the table.

Tell Scuba guy that "You got dumped into the forest fire by a fire-fighting plane." As I say this, he stops mumbling and looks up at me, almost smiling. "But, could that really happen?" he asks. Tux has shifted his stare to somewhere above Scuba's head...

Is Tuxedo a midget? Well he hasn't stood up yet, but he does appear to sit rather low in the seat, compared to Scuba and Tatter.If so, try telling him that "And your cane got cut shorter." While still staring over Scuba's head, Tux reaches down and rubs the tip of his cane. "So I'm not getting taller," he says quietly, "which means I can keep my job as 'Shortest Man' at the circus. If only I had seen the sawdust...". Tux stands up, and he is actually very, very short. He walks over to the wall and presses a button that I hadn't yet noticed, and a few seconds later the tall man that welcomed me opens the door to the room. "Here, I guess I'll need a new one," says Tux as he hands me his cane. He extends his arm, and the tall man leads him into the little foyer and buckles a parachute onto him. Tux gazes upward slightly, somewhat in the direction of the table and says "Good luck!". Then, the tall man opens the exit and Tux leaps out of the blimp. The man then closes the exit door and closes the door to the room I'm in.

Tell Scuba that, "No, it couldn't happen, and they tested it on MythBusters." He immediately looks relieved. "I knew it! Those fire buckets are topped with mesh so I couldn't fit through that, plus I was too deep for the bucket to reach me anyway! Thank you! Good luck to you, and you can take my scuba gear." He's pointing to an air tank, diving mask and flippers that are on the floor behind his chair. He then walks over and pushes the button. Immediately I can feel the blimp descending, and it does this for a few minutes. Finally, the door opens and the tall man appears with a life preserver vest, which Scuba puts on. The tall man squeezes a yellow button on the vest and a homing beacon on the collar of the vest begins to blink. As the tall man opens the exit, I see that we are still moving forward, but only a few feet above the ocean. "They'll pick you up in a few minutes," says the tall man, and Scuba shakes his hand and jumps out the door. Tall man quickly closes the exit door, then the room's door, and the blimp begins to rise steadily.

Ask Tatter if "albatross" means anything to him - I have a hunch he may have spent quite a bit of time on a deserted island. As soon as I say "albatross", Tatter begins sobbing and moaning. "Yes!" he says, "It does mean something!"

Tell him that "The restaurant guy was too lazy to actually give him albatross, so switched it out with emu meat, and that he did eat albatross on the island." Tatter quickly regains his composure, dries his tears, and stands up. "Why, yes," he says, "makes perfect sense. And if the restaurant guy was lazy, maybe the other guy on the island was lazy too and we ate some bird that he didn't recognize and I jumped to conclusions. In any case, that's a load off of my mind - thank you, kind sir. I will no longer need this," he says as he hands me the pistol he's been holding.

Then he says, "Now, you will need this." He proceeds to put the manilla folder on the table and tap it with his fingers. "You must be careful, there's something in here that you have to guard with your life and not lose. It will all make sense at some point when you reach the island." He walks over and pushes the button, and seconds later the door opens. The tall man is standing in the foyer with the exit door open, and a cable has been attached to the blimp's doorway - it's a zipline which is attached to a helicopter a few hundred feet beside and slightly below the blimp. Tatter climbs into a harness which is then attached to the zipline, and the tall man gives him a push. I watch as Tatter quickly sails down the line and safely into the helicopter. The tall man disconnects the cable, gives a quick salute and closes the door. "We'll be there in a few hours," he says to me as he steps into the cockpit and closes the door behind him.

In relation to the three men before they left, what were the positions of the photos on the wall? Is the cane hollow? if so can you open it without breaking it? (like a false bottom?) How much air is in the air tank? (time-wise) Check under the table and chairs; see if there is anything you could have missed. Since you have a few hours, are you allowed and able to check out the rest of the blimp? If so, how many rooms are there in relation to the one you are in now?(color code might help)

So we have the cane, scuba gear (air tank, mask, flippers), pistol, and folder, right? Right

Open the folder and see what's inside it. I'll get to this in a minute...And check to see how many bullets are in the pistol. It's a six-chamber revolver with 3 bullets in it

You've got a pistol and a manila envelope...are you going to acquire a lead pipe, a rope, a wrench, a candlestick, and a knife at some point? On these crazy adventures you never know...

In relation to the three men before they left, what were the positions of the photos on the wall? Uh...the one of the wrecked jet and the one of the Monopoly players are on the wall opposite where Scuba was sitting, the photos of the lighthouse and the guy in the car are behind where Tux wasIs the cane hollow? No, from what I can tell it is solidif so can you open it without breaking it? (like a false bottom?) It is very sturdy wood, and there is no false bottom - the cane is made entirely of wood, no metal cap on the top or bottom, and the bottom shows evidence that it has been sawnHow much air is in the air tank? (time-wise) Good thing to check - 10 minutes worth of airCheck under the table and chairs; see if there is anything you could have missed. I checked everywhere but do not find anythingSince you have a few hours, are you allowed and able to check out the rest of the blimp? Well nobody told me I couldn'tIf so, how many rooms are there in relation to the one you are in now?(color code might help) There is a small bathroom off of the room I'm in (like the kind on a passenger jet), the small foyer and the cockpit - that's it

Now about the folder - I sit down and open it up, and I find a few sheets of white paper with writing and diagrams, plus a small and very old-looking piece of parchment with an outline of what looks like an island sketched on it.

The first paper has a title "El Cerebro's Island", followed by this:

In the early 1800's, the pirate El Cerebro made his fortunes by outwitting, out-fighting and otherwise scheming to deprive other pirates of their treasures. He was finally pursued to a tiny island in the Pacific by a group of pirates, all of whom had been robbed of their loot by El Cerebro himself. El Cerebro's ship ran aground on the island in a dense fog, and his crew used the ship's cannons to destroy two of the pursuant ships. A third ship attempted to circle around the island, but was blown into some rocks and sustained damage to the rudder and hull. As the captain of this ship declared it too risky to stay, he was killed by members of his crew who wanted revenge on El Cerebro. A fight ensued, many were killed, and those who wanted revenge the most got into small boats and made it to shore while those who stayed on board attempted to leave the island but the wind picked up again and forced the crippled ship into the rocky coastline, sinking it and killing all those aboard.

Those who made it to shore safely quickly found El Cerebro's ship and attacked. The fighting was fierce and most of El Cerebro's men were killed. When only a few of each side's men were left and scattered around on the island, El Cerebro faced and killed all of the enemy.

El Cerebro had only two men left from his crew, and he convinced these men to help him hide their loot in case their pursuers returned. They agreed, and filled a large chest with the gold and jewels from the ship. El Cerebro told the men he didn't want them to betray him, so he shackled each of them to opposite ends of the chest. The 3 of them got into a small boat and went a short distance off shore. El Cerebro declared that if anyone knew where the chest was it would never be secure, then proceeded to light a fuse sticking out of a small barrel that he had brought into the boat. Shortly after El Cerebro jumped out of the boat, the barrel exploded and destroyed the boat. The two men and the chest sank to the ocean floor as El Cerebro swam back to the island. No one ever saw or heard from him again.

The next page is a drawing of a timeline:

El Cerebro shipwrecked, circa 1810 1837 - A man claiming to be the "lost member of El Cerebro's crew" gives a map of island to authorities in Brazil shortly before his death 1851 to 1854 - First attempt by group of ships to find island fails 1864 - Second attempt to find island fails 1873 - Third attempt to find island is successful, island shape and dimensions are identical to map. A small shelter built from ship's remains is found on the island, but nothing else. 1911 - Island is visited and explored by American archaeologist, who says evidence confirms a shipwreck, but still no sign of any treasure 1964 - Group of researchers bring various animals to the island in an attempt to study the animals' ability to survive in remote areas. Researchers set up shelter and maintain radio contact. Experiment scheduled for two years. 1965 - After losing radio contact, team members arrive and search the island finding no trace of team members who had been living on the island. Island is considered "unlivable" for humans, team members return home.

The next pages are photocopies of photos - one of an aerial view of an island which looks to be approx. 2 miles long and approx. 1/2 mile wide, one of some men standing in a grassy field with a few goats in the distance behind them, one of a man erecting a large tent while another man stands nearby holding a large radio.

The final item in the folder is a 4" x 6" piece of parchment with a drawing of an island, which almost exactly matches the island in the photograph.

Remove the pictures from the wall. Anything behind them? No, simply regular photographs in regular frames hung on nails in the wall

Check out the bathroom - describe in detail, please. Like a porta-potty with a small sink, identical to the bathrooms in charter buses and those in passenger jets

As I'm checking out the bathroom, the tall man comes into the room and says "Oh I wouldn't bother checking out any of this stuff, you have what's important already." He's carrying a folded cardboard box which he unfolds and puts on the table. He puts the mask, fins, pistol and cane in the box and sets the box on the floor next to the air tank, then goes back to the cockpit. I sit down and read back over the pages in the folder, and eventually nod off to sleep (as others may have done while reading all of that stuff). A few hours later, someone taps me on the arm and I wake up. "We're here," says the tall man. As I stand and walk to the foyer, I see that he has placed the box and the air tank on the ground just outside the exit. "Good grief, don't forget that," he says as he points to the folder which is still on the table. I pick it up and walk to the exit door and look outside. We've landed in a clearing bordered by trees, and the man begins talking as he helps me out of the blimp. "Take this, and this," he says as he hands me a backpack and a flare gun. "Do not send up that flare until you've found the significant find. That's the signal that you're ready to be picked up, and if you haven't found anything when you get picked up the deal is off, and my employer will be most disappointed. With this backpack you can carry your stuff around with you, but that tank is pretty heavy so I'd suggest only carrying that when you are ready to use it. Good luck!" He steps back inside and pulls the door to close it. Just before the door closes he yells "By the way, it's now 4 o'clock!" The blimp quickly rises and heads away, soon disappearing behind the trees.

So I'm in a clearing, about 200 feet across, bordered on all sides by trees. I'm holding the folder, the box and tank are at my feet, I've put the flare gun and backpack in the box.

Anything else in the backpack? NoAnything in the clearing? Hmmm...a few leaves, sparse grass, very small bushes, that's about itAny sticks we can stick in the ground to make a sundial? I suppose so, from what I can see from here there are many sticks and limbs on the ground in the wooded area

All right, jam a stick into the ground and see which way the shadow points. Since we know the time, this may give us a decent sense of direction. (Trying to figure out which way is where before heading off into the trees.)

All right, jam a stick into the ground and see which way the shadow points. There are several sturdy sticks at the edge of the clearing, so I got one and stuck it into the ground firmly. My shadow and the stick's shadow point directly in front of me. As I look into the woods in that direction, I notice that is the only area of the treeline through which I can see daylight, the trees are too thick the rest of the way around the clearing. So since it's a little after 4 in the afternoon and the shadows are in front of me, I must be facing...east?

Since we know the time, this may give us a decent sense of direction. Great idea. As soon as I planted the stick and saw where the shadow of it landed, I made a little "4" out of twigs and placed it and the end of the shadow line that the stick made.

(Trying to figure out which way is where before heading off into the trees.) A good plan, since the trees are very dense everywhere except for the place where they allow some light through, and this area is about 40 feet wide

Head for the less dense area. If it feels like a good idea to hide the scuba tank somewhere first, do so. See if there's any obvious reason why the woods are less dense here. Keep walking straight on until you can't, or until you see something worth investigating (or hiding from).

Head for the less dense area. If it feels like a good idea to hide the scuba tank somewhere first, do so. Ok - I moved the box and the tank into the woods at one side of the clearing so they are pretty well concealed.See if there's any obvious reason why the woods are less dense here. Keep walking straight on until you can't, or until you see something worth investigating (or hiding from). It does not take long to discover why the trees are less dense here, after entering the woods it takes only a minute or so to get out of them. The woody area ends only a few feet from the edge of a steep slope that goes downward into the ocean, there is no beach or shore below. It's only possible to follow the top of the slope for a short distance in either direction before the slope meets the treeline. Looking to my right, I can see that the island continues for perhaps 1/2 mile in that direction, and that portion of the island is a dog-leg which bends toward this side - so, I can see that tip of the island, and from here it looks as if it is more sloped there than here, almost like a cliff. I can't see much to my left, as the treeline blocks the view.

Does it appear possible to safely climb down the slope? Down? Yes, but I couldn't get back up here, it's too steep and unstable (I could belly-slide down without hurting myself). Once I got to the bottom there's no shore, so I would go right into the water, and the slope only gets more steep towards the end of the island that I can see.Is it possible to head in the general direction of the dog-leg? Or are the trees too dense? Well I can't follow the top edge of the slope, I'll have to go back into the trees just a little bit in order to access that end of the island.

just to make sure you dont lose time or direction, before going else where, return to the open field and mark your cardnal directions. then grab a sturdy branch and return to the slope and put the stick in the ground and mark you cardnal directions again. so do you see anything significant on or near the slope? how far can you walk into the forest-like area?(lol)

just to make sure you dont lose time or direction, before going else where, return to the open field and mark your cardnal directions. Ok, there's now a primitive compass on the groundthen grab a sturdy branch and return to the slope and put the stick in the ground and mark you cardnal directions again. Ok - some time has passed, but the place where I can stand atop the slope is apparently directly east of the center of the cleared areaso do you see anything significant on or near the slope? Nothing besides what was detailed previouslyhow far can you walk into the forest-like area?(lol) Well, probably as far as I decide to go...

did the fact that the blimp was named daisy have any significance? Not really, other than to identify it as Dr. Wieck's blimp - in a previous lateral adventure, 'Adventure at Wieck Manor', it was discovered that Daisy was the name of one of Dr. Wieck's hunting hounds

Head through the forest in the general direction of the dog-leg until you find something. Be careful not to get lost. Well if the island I'm on is the same one as in the photo that was in the manilla folder, it's approx. 2 miles long by 1/2 mile wide. My walk from the clearing to the slope took maybe 2 minutes (probably less), and I'd estimate the walk to the end of the dog-leg to be maybe 20 minutes.

I head through the trees toward the tip of the island. Though the walking is slow due to the density of the woods and undergrowth, maintaining perspective is somewhat easy. After about 15 minutes, the trees begin to thin out on all sides, and soon afterward I'm out of the trees walking down a gentle slope which ends at the ocean. It appears that the steep slope continues all the way to the end of the island, then slopes both toward the opposite side of the island as well as toward the water. The slope here is littered with loose rock and grayish soil, no grass or other vegetation. I soon reach the bottom of the slope, noting that the island narrows as I descend to almost a point at the bottom of the slope. Here there is a somewhat small, flat and rocky beach. There are a few large-ish boulders, several smaller boulders and thousands of pebble-type rocks. As I walk around, I see a dark object next to one of the large boulders - a closer inspection reveals this to be an anchor attached to some rope.

Is it possible to move the anchor? To lift it? Well it's heavy, but I could probably carry it at least a little wayHow long is the rope attached to it? Fairly long, it's all coiled up but I'd say it could be 100 feetIs it at all possible to remove the rope? Looks impossible to untie it from the anchorWhere is the other end of the rope? It's here with the coiled up rope, looks like it's been roughly cut

Check out some of the larger boulders. Do any of them have anything attached? Like a hook? That we might be able to tie the anchor to? There aren't many large boulders and I've checked them all...no hooks

Pick up a few pebbles, and skip them across the sea. Wheeeee! That was fun

Now try and make your way back to the clearing. Good idea, the shadows are getting long and I don't know how much more daylight I'll haveCheck the makeshift sundial, and see if you can tell what time it is. The sun has dropped below the treeline now, so the stick doesn't cast a shadow

Do we happen to have a flashlight or other light source on us? No, I don't, and this is an important thing to consider as it darkens. It's a cloudless day and should stay cloudless tonight so perhaps moonlight will be of some help, if neededIs there any way we can make a fire? I know it's theoretically possible to do this by rubbing sticks together but I've never been able to make that work. Without matches or some other sort of lighter I don't know how I can make fire at this point. If I wore glasses or had a magnifying glass I could try the "focused sun" method, but I don't have either of these things.

Head a very short way into one of the sections of denser trees. Can one see anything by moonlight? (Be careful not to get lost.) Well it's not dark yet so I'll make the most of the remaining light. I walked into the trees directly opposite of the slope, and this took about 15 minutes until I emerged from the trees. As the trees suddenly thin out I find myself atop another slope, but this one not as steep and not as high up as the other one. This slope also ends in the water with no shore, and appears to have very loose ground so if I did slide or climb down I don't know if I could climb back up. The trees are sparse along the slope's edge, and stay this way in both directions (but grow dense just a short distance inward). I can't see very far to the left, as the island's dog-leg bends away from me in that direction. To my right, about a hundred yards away, is a triangular-shaped structure of some kind.

Can we make it back to the slope in the moonlight? Or would it be too dark? With the density of the trees it will likely be completely dark in wooded areas once the sun goes down

Can you head over to the triangular structure? Quickly now, we don't want to be stuck here in the dark. Agreed! The sun is still above the horizon though, so no worries yet. As I walk toward the structure it's an upward hike, not very steep but uphill still. I reach the structure - it's an 'A' shaped contraption made from large wooden beams; two large beams are planted in the ground at an angle so that they meet at a point, and a third smaller beam forms the cross section; on one side of the pointed top is a metal crank-type pulley with a wooden handle; a good amount of wire is coiled around the pulley, and at the end of the wire is a metal hook.

The slope is higher and steeper here, and just past the contraption the ground drops off abruptly, so going further along the slope isn't possible without heading into the trees. As I look around to verify this, I notice that there is a path leading into the trees diagonally away from the contraption. It's a bit overgrown, but it's a path...

How large is the hook? Hang on (I'm cupping my hand in a hook shape)...ok, it's a little bit bigger than my cupped handCould it possibly hold the rope? I guess soHow much weight do you think this contraption could hold? It's very sturdy, I can't make it budge by pushing on it, and the pulley seems securely mounted and the wire is strong, so I'd say it will hold a good bit of weight

Can you try turning the crank? If so, do so. Ok - I'll try it...well, as soon as I began to turn the pulley, the wooden handle snapped off in my hand (noticeable rotting in the handle). The pulley seemed like it would turn easily, but the handle wasn't strong enough to take any stress.

Follow the path into the woods. Ok - the path begins straight, then winds a bit. After about 10 minutes on the path, the woods grow darker and visibility is limited. Just as I begin to feel tense, I emerge into a small clearing that's been made by cutting down several trees (the stumps are still here). In the fading light I can see a small building just a few feet away - it's made from stacked rock and wooden planks. The building is 8' x 10', and just slightly higher than my eye level (so I'd need to duck to enter it). There's a simply made wooden door on the side of the building that I'm facing.

Keep the handle - we may need some way to fix that, maybe with tape. Allright, well actually I left it next to the pulley-thing (it had mostly crumbled), but that's easy to find. And tape? Well...there's a Wal Mart in almost every town now, so there may be one here where I can pick up some tape...

Enter the building. The door opens easily, but there isn't enough light to allow me to see more than a foot or so inside, and it's just bare dirt floor

Look around the outside of the house. Does anything stand out? Well I'm mostly feeling around since I can't really see anything, but I don't detect anything unusualIs there any way to get on the roof? Sure, this would be easy to do since the walls are stacked rocks, this makes several footholds. And since the building isn't very high it would not be at all difficult.

Climb up on the roof. What can you see from here? Very little, since it's dark outside now. However, due to the height of the trees relative to this roof, I wouldn't be able to see much from here even with the aid of daylight

All right, sleep in the house. Sounds like a safe idea to me. I climbed down from the roof and walked carefully into the building. Not too far from the door is a pallet of some kind, feels like a large cushion. It doesn't smell funny and it's rather soft so I'll camp here for the night.

Some time later, sunlight enters the room through 2 small windows in the wall opposite the door and 1 window in the wall to the left of the door. Some type of bird is chirping somewhere nearby, so this and the light cause me to awaken. I slept well, now I can go outside and continue to get my bearings. As far as the inside of the building, it's empty other than the cushion that I slept on.

As I open the door to leave, I see something quite unexpected - my box of 'goodies' and air tank on the ground just outside the building! Oh, and a rather large bag of trail mix and a canteen next to that. Hmmmm....

Is the canteen full? Yes, full of poison! Just kidding, I'm pretty sure it's water

Is the trail mix tasty? Take them with you, and have a quick (small) snack. Cashews, raisins, sunflower seeds, granola, yep it's tasty

Head back on the roof and see if anything stands out. Not much - the trees are very dense in all directions but appear the least dense as I face the left of the house (which would, I think, be toward the opposite end of the island from the rocky beach I visited). The path that I took starts just a short distance from the house's door; I don't see any other paths into the trees but it wouldn't be hard to walk through them here.

Head through the trees where they are least dense (to the left). What do you come across? Trees, trees, more trees in addition to various kinds of bushes. I've walked about a mile I would guess, and the trees begin to thin out, especially to my right. After I go about another half mile, I come to a fence. It's made from wooden planks, and is a little bit higher than my chest; the fence uses trees as "posts", so each section varies in length depending on spacing between trees, and the fence takes many turns based on where the trees are but generally seems to span the width of the island. I don't see any kind of gate nearby. Looking over the fence, it seems that on the other side of the fence the trees quickly become less dense and there appears to be open land beyond the trees ahead.

Is the fence climbable? "Jump-over"-able? If so, do so. Well it's not easy to do this, but I manage to (this maneuver isn't advisable if I'm ever in a hurry to get from one side of the fence to the other)

Were you able to take the stuff with you over the fence? If not, get it and bring it with you over the fence. If so, start heading into the open land. Well all I'm carrying is the canteen and the trail mix, and I took those over the fence. Going forward, the trees thin out and end at an open expanse of grassy land that extends as far to my left, right and ahead as I can see. Far ahead of me and to my right is a cluster of animals which I believe are goats.

Stare at the goats until they die. Didn't someone already try this and it failed?

No, seriously, don't get too close to them. I'm worried they might charge. So observe, but from a distance. Well I'm at the edge of the treeline and far enough away that I don't think the goats even know that I'm here. I'd say there are maybe 15-20 goats, all wandering around in the field which is mostly lush grass.

Can you get closer to them? Yes, but to do so will mean I will have to leave the cover of the woods. The goats haven't noticed me here, but once I get out of the woods there is no cover of any kind anywhere in the field.

What are they doing? They appear to be standing around, some of them lying down, some of them eating the grass.

All right, head back over the fence and into the house. Just in case it rains. I think rain is indeed headed this way. Just before I walked back toward the fence I heard a sudden rumble of thunder, and even though they were pretty far from me I could see the goats react nervously, some of them suddenly running across the field when they heard the boom.

I made it back over the fence, retraced my way through the woods and got back to the house. The rain has started to fall so I'm in the house, and I've moved the box of stuff inside so it doesn't get wet.

How heavy is the rain falling? It's a drizzle, not a downpour, but it's hard to tell among the trees because they block a lot of the rain that's fallingIs there thunder? YesLightning? I haven't seen any, but there have been a few more thunderclaps(Trying to figure out if we can still explore in the rain....) I don't mind getting wet, and I suppose that if I did I'd have to just deal with it considering one of the things I've been given is Scuba gear

Head back to the field with the goats, and examine where they were standing. Ok, I made it back to the field, did the fence-hop again. I don't see the goats anywhere in the field, perhaps they've taken shelter among the trees from the rain. The walk to the area where they were takes a few minutes, and all I can see around the area is patches of bare ground where they were chomping at the grass. The field ends just a short distance from here, and ends abruptly atop a cliff. This end of the island appears to be a rounded arc-shape, and from what I can tell the sheer dropoff goes all the way around. There's no fence, so the goats must realize that the dropoff is here.

Hmmm...could you please supply a map-like description of the island, sofaras to what we know now? Certainly - the photo of the island that I received is somewhat fresh in my mind, and confirms what I've discovered by walking around the island - the island is between 2 and 2.5 miles long, stretching from N to S; the north end of the island is an open grassy field, roughly 1/2 mile from the northern point of the island to where the field meets the trees; a short distance into this wooded area is a fence; the next portion of the island (moving south) is heavily wooded, although I've noticed that at one point to the eastern side of the island the trees thin out a bit; a portion of the way through the woods, the island widens a bit to the west, and on the western slope is a triangular pulley contraption with a wire and hook attached; from this area a path leads east to a small building; further south of this is the clearing where I was dropped off; east of the clearing through the thin woods is a slope; the island dog-legs to the east a short way south of here; the southern end of the island is a rocky beach where I found an anchor attached to a fairly long rope; from the beach, the ground rises uphill until it meets the wooded area.

Have we made it onto the actual dog-leg yet? Can we head over that way? I haven't been along the slope on that side of the island, so I'll check it out...as I walk south from the east slope, I have to go back into the trees a short distance in order to walk along that side of the island. Going south, the slope becomes steeper until it turns into a sheer cliff face like the north end. It's possible to walk along the top of the slope at the south end, the ground is rocky and treeless; if I turn away from the east side and walk west, I can go a short distance before I slide down a somewhat steep slope onto the rocky beach.

All right, head down the slope. Which beach is this again? (I've completely confused myself...sorry) I slid down the slope, I'm now on the rocky beach on the southern tip of the island, the anchor is just a few feet away from me

Head back to the house and wait out the storm. Ok, to do this I just walk up the slope into the wooded area, then westward to the contraption, then take the path to the house. As I do this I walk through some muddy areas and notice animal tracks of some kind. They appear to be from an animal with 4 legs, and so far the only 4 legged animals I've seen here are goats. Goats have hooves, yet these prints are paws...

Where are the pawprints coming from? Where do they appear to be going to? Hard to say, I saw some near the contraption and they seemed to be going toward the north end of the island, then some rather close to the house (gulp) that seemed to be going east-west across the island.

Follow the prints backwards, to their origin. Have your gun ready. Ok, though this may be difficult to do. The ground transitions from muddy to rocky, and on the hard ground the footprints cease to appear. I have my bearings well enough to be able to go from the house to the contraption to the south end of the island, then northward along the east ridge to the stick that I planted atop the slope, westward to the clearing, then further westward to the contraption, then back to the house. As I make this circuit I see a few tracks but they are so sparse and not facing the same direction that it's impossible to say where they originated.

So I decide to move northward, from the contraption along the west slope, into the trees only as far as necessary...

I'm among the trees now, probably 1/2 mile or so from the fence, and I just heard something like a branch snapping in the distance off to my right. My gun is ready...

Look over where the branch snapped - be prepared to fire. Well I looked in the general direction but I didn't see anything. The trees are dense here, so it's hard to see anything more than 15-20 yards away, and the noise sounded farther off than thatSlowly head in that direction, being wary of any more noises. Ok, this means I'll need to walk eastward, and I'm trying to be as quiet as possible in doing so. I'm moving toward the area I passed earlier, where I could detect a less dense area of trees along the eastern side of the island. I didn't hear any more noises, and I emerged from the woods into a sparsely treed area which is atop the eastern slope, only here the slope isn't nearly as steep. As I approach the edge of the slope, I can see that it goes downward toward a small sandy beach. And, there's a small wooden boat on the beach below.

I just heard another snapping of twigs, not very loud and to my left, which is toward the north end of the island.

Head in that direction, again carefully. Ok, the less steep slope continues for about 100 feet, then becomes a straight dropoff which apparently continues all the way to and around the north end of the island. The trees stay sparse and...

I have just neared the place where the slope ends, and I've stopped behind a clump of bushes. In the woods to my left is a small clearing, perhaps 50 feet away. At the far edge of the clearing is what looks like a man, standing perfectly still, with one arm extended outward from his body.

"Looks like" a man? Yes, it's hard to say for sure because not only are there trees that interfere with the view, a fog has started to move in on the island so visibility is more limited

Might he be a Scarecrow in need of a brain? Follow the yellow brick road? Maybe wishful thinking...

Speak to him and see if he changes the direction he's pointing, or if he folds his arms and points both ways. :-D Well if it is a man, he likely can't see me now behind these bushes, plus if he did wish to harm me for some reason I could defend myself with the gun. So, I shout "Helloooo!". Silence, and no movement from the "man".

Tap him on the shoulder. I'll have to approach him to do this...Ask him if he's waiting for a bird. Well I took a chance and yelled this question to him from my concealed place, but got no response. Gun in hand, I move out from the bushes and make my way toward the man. He stays completely motionless as I move toward him, and when I get within a few yards of him it's clear why - he is a statue. This is a rather well made statue of a man, probably 6 1/2 feet tall. The "legs" are actually two small sapling trees that were cut off at about 4 feet high, then a bunch of vines and small branches were fashioned into a torso and set on top of the trees. It seems that this is supposed to resemble a pirate, because a pirate-style hat has been made from small vines and branches and sits atop the "head", and many small vines have been interwoven into a "coat" which hangs over the torso. The "man" is facing south, with one "arm" down by his side, and the other arm...well, it is probably supposed to be pointing south but this "arm" is broken, snapped off where the "elbow" would be. This extended "arm" is a single tree limb attached to the "shoulder" with a wooden peg and tied on with tiny vines.

Look in the direction the arm is pointing. Can you see anything out there? Well the portion of the arm that's left just points into the woods, and all I see in that direction is trees. All I have to judge by is the part of the arm that's still attached, perhaps if I knew what the missing part of the arm looked like I'd know something more.

Do you see any more wolf prints? In which way are they headed? I don't see any here, but this isn't muddy ground, it's grassy and rocky

How long is the broken-off arm? About the same length as my own arm from shoulder to elbowThe completed one? Looks to be the same length as my ownDo you think the cane could be used to complete the broken arm? Very possible, but the cane's not long enough to complete the arm by holding it against the broken place, I'd say there would need to be another 3 inches of length to make it match the other arm (and this assumes that the extended hand didn't have a "finger" pointing, or something else extending from the "hand")

Head back to the muddier ground. Any wolf prints? The ground seems to get muddier and sandier closer to the slope, so I start walking that way. This takes me directly across the clearing (which I did not cross earlier, I stayed among the trees as I approached the "man"), and as I walk this way I note that this isn't a natural clearing at all, like where I first landed. No, this clearing has been made by chopping down several trees, there are numerous stumps here and they have somewhat pointed tops, as if someone felled all the trees with an axe. The only stump that I noticed that had a nice flattened top was one that's only a few feet away from the statue.

As I get to the top of the slope that's above the beach I see a few more tracks heading north.

What time is it? I have no idea, I'm not wearing a watchHave a snack and a drink. Good idea, I can use the refreshment!

Stand on the flattened stump and look around. Can you see anything? No, this just elevates me a few feet off the ground

Examine the stump. Anything odd about it? Yes indeed there is something odd - slightly off center in the flattened top of the stump is a rectangular indentation. It's very slight, maybe 1/4" inch deep, and I would estimate the dimensions to be 4" x 6".

Follow the tracks, gun at the ready. As I move northward past the slope top back into the trees, the tracks disappear. Soon I come to a place where the island narrows and the dropoff turns inland. There is a rope bridge here that goes across the ravine created by the narrowing of the island, or I can simply go around the ravine and continue northward (basically along the west side, the path I took northward previously). Still no sign of tracks here.

Can you safely cross the rope bridge? If so, do so, and see what's over there. It's slow going, but I got safely across and continue northward. After a little time I can see the fence ahead. This time I'm approaching from the east side of the island (the place I fence-hopped is west of here), and I can see a gate in the fence. A short distance to the left of the gate, there's a place where a few planks have broken and there is a gap in the fence. Just over the fence beyond the gate I can see the top of what looks like a small wooden shed/stable type building and I can hear the goats making some noise. Also, there are sets of tracks nearby, some going toward the fence and some coming away from it.

Is it possible to take some of the broken planks? If so, do so. Well two planks have been broken roughly in half lengthwise, each piece is about 6" wide by 18" long, so I can carry these with me

How big is the gap in the fence? So with each plank being about 6" wide this makes the gap about 12" wide and about 18" tall

Head through the gate and check out the shed/stable. The gate opens easily, it's latched on the outside (facing south) with a small loop of rope and a wooden peg. The building is in fact a stable, and the goats are all around it and some are inside. As I approach the building all of the goats move away from me, some out into the field and others into a corner of the stable. The stable is somewhat large, I'd guess it to be 20' x 20', made of the same wooden planks as the fence, the roof made from long wooden planks. The floor of the stable is covered with straw, and there is a little bale of hay in one of the corners. The side of the stable facing the meadow is open, the other 3 sides are walled. Hanging on one of the walls is a goatskin.

Check out the goatskin - describe in more detail, please. Sure - it's hanging from a nail in one of the walls, and it's a complete goat's hide, made almost into the form of a coat. If I wanted to, I could drape this over my shoulders, pull the hood (which has fake eyes attached) over my head, get down on all fours and be somewhat convincing as a goat. There are even loops sewn into the 4 legs, as if someone has made it for this very purpose - so it's more like a "goat costume" than simply a goatskin.

Is there anything under the bale of hay? No, I picked up the bale and shook it, and it all just fell onto the floor and spread out a bit.

The rain has stopped and the fog has lifted a little bit, all the goats are moving out into the field as one group.

Ooh, that might come in handy later. Take it with you. Actually, put it on and follow the goats to, well, wherever they're going. Well ok...I've put on the "goat-coat", and to cover ground it's easier to just walk out behind the goats, who have moved out into the open field once again. I can get within 30 feet or so of them before they take any notice of me and casually keep their distance (they must know I'm a phony goat).

It must be late afternoon, the sun has gone down below the treeline. The fog has continued to lift so visibility is getting better, but it looks as if it will be getting dark soon.

All right, might as well get out of costume and head back to the house. Ok, I've taken the coat off and walked back to the gate, latched the gate behind me and retraced my path across the bridge, across the slope past the statue clearing, eventually getting back to the house. There is still some fading light as I near the house, and I notice tracks that look fairly fresh, but this time there are two sets - one set is the wolf-like tracks which circle the house and appear to head east...the other is a set of human footprints (not mine, these are larger than my shoes) leading from the path right up to the door of the house...

Open the door and go inside. Have your gun ready, just in case. I opened the door, but found the house to be empty. As I entered, I noticed a long, narrow object leaning against the wall next to the mattress. I went over to examine it, and in the fading light I see that it is a tranquilizer rifle.

All right, let's take a nap. No argument to that!Anything different when you wake up? Well I'm awakened by a noise coming from just outside the house - it's some twigs/branches snapping as if someone or something is walking around, and the faint sound of a dog panting...

Go outside. Ok, I opened the door slowly and stepped just outside the doorIs there a dog there? Please don't say it's a wolf....Well, it's an animal of some kind. There is a little light outside (it must be just around sunrise), and the animal is standing about 10 feet from me. It resembles either a coyote or a wild dog of some kind. As soon as it saw me it stopped moving and turned to face me, and seconds later it bared its teeth and let out a deep growl.

This...is bad. I don't want to shoot it, but I don't want to die. That's very logical!

Oh well, shoot first, ask questions later. Then once you're done asking questions, take the collar and the canister attached. Open the canister and see what's in it. So it's either him/her or me, and this will be an easy shot...BLAM!

Well that was unexpected - I know I had perfect aim at the dog, but apparently I missed completely! The odd thing is there wasn't any dirt kicked up from the shot, so I don't know where the bullet went...in any case, the sound of the gunfire temporarily stunned the dog, then it darted off into the woods to the south. No doubt I'm going to need that canister...

Follow that dog! (Translation: head south, and see if you can find the spent bullet.) Ok - first I walked all around where the dog was standing when I fired, and there is no evidence anywhere that the bullet struck the ground (the dog was standing on dirt, so there should be a hole if it struck the ground here). There's also no blood trail in the direction that the dog ran.

I headed southward through the woods, gun ready, until I came out of the woods at the top of the slope which goes down to the rocky beach (south tip of the island), but I didn't see the dog anywhere.

All right...what time is it? Still early morning, from what I can tell

Head back to the house (can you tell I'm lost?) and try looking up at the trees in the woods. See if you can see something. I don't see anything in the trees, but on the way back to the house I heard something and snuck up to investigate - the wild dog has stopped ahead of me among the trees to sniff and paw at something on the ground, which appears to be a dead animal of some kind. So far, the dog doesn't know I'm behind it.

Get as close as you can without making the dog aware of your presence. Then shoot it. The dog is busily pawing and chewing at a carcass, so I can get close enough to get a clear shot. I have a great open shot at the dog's side, and I know my aim is perfect so,...BLAM! At the sound of the shot, the dog's head jerks up and it takes off running northward, no apparent sign of any effect from a bullet. I walked quickly over to where the dog was standing, no sign of any blood anywhere, no blood trail leading away where the dog ran. That's twice now that I've had an easy open shot and it's had no effect. Either my aim is bad (which I doubt), or something else is going on...

I definitely think something is going on. There should at least be some evidence that a bullet left the gun, I mean it's possible that my aim is slightly off, but on two instances to have a shot that easy and miss...

Is there anything interesting about the carcass? No, looks like it was some kind of bird but there's really nothing left but a few bones and feathers

When you fired the shot, was your aim at a downward angle? If so, see if there's some trace of the bullet on the ground. It was slightly down angle, so there should be a bullet hole in the ground, but there isn't. Do you think maybe...Waitwaitwait...another idea. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

Examine the last bullet in the gun and make sure that it is, in fact a bullet, and not a blank. It IS a blank! I think you ARE thinking what I'm thinking!

Grrr...stupid cost-cutting measures, not actually giving us real bullets! No, but I'm assuming that at some point the objects I was given are going to need to be put to use somehow. If I had needed real bullets I probably would have been given them (and still may be given them), fortunately I didn't fire all the shots in the gun before making this discovery about the blanks, so instead of having a viable weapon I have something that can produce a very loud noise on demand - whether this is of any use or not I do not yet know.

OK, follow those doggie prints again. The dog left a trail of bent branches and a few tracks, all leading north. I lost the trail, but decided to continue north looking for any sign of the dog. I got all the way to the fence, then started walking east along the fence toward the gate. When I reached the place where the two planks are broken I saw fresh tracks leading to the other side of the fence. I continued on to the gate, opened it and went through closing the gate behind me. As I passed the stable I saw the dog - it has just pounced on a goat that had straggled away from the main group and was all by itself on the western part of the field. The other goats are all close to the eastern edge of the field, and apparently the dog has killed the goat that it attacked.

Can you sneak over and see what the dog is up to, more closely? I prefer to stay among the trees, because if I venture out into the field there is no cover anywhere, and now that I know the gun is useless for defensive purposes I don't want the dog to see me and think I'm being aggressive. I moved westward along the treeline, and it's pretty obvious that the dog killed the goat and ate at least part of it (guess the dog was fairly hungry).

Then head back to the clearing and check the makeshift sundial for the time. Ok, by the time I reached the sundial the sun had gone down below the trees so there isn't any shadow. It's now nearing dark, and there's a wild dog on the loose against which I have no real defense...

In that case, go back to the house, and sleep there. Good idea. I got back to the house just before dark, and when I got inside I noticed that not only was the tranq rifle in a different place than I left it, it now has a tranq dart in it.

Go to sleep. When you wake up, see if the dog is out there. After a decent night's sleep I awaken and exit the house cautiously, rifle in hand, but don't see the dog anywhere, or any new tracks. I'm wondering if I should carry anything else around with me besides this tranq rifle...

All right, but make sure all the other stuff is in the house. And grab a snack and drink before you leave. Done

Trying to figure out where the dog might be - try the field with goats, since he killed one earlier. I walked to the field, no sign of the dog anywhere. The goats are in a large group near the center of the field.

Hmmm...try the clearing, the rocky beach, the very first slope, and the wooden contraption. Must...find...dog...Well I think you're right about this. I spent time walking around the whole island today and I didn't come across the dog anywhere. So I started thinking, "Maybe there's a way to lure the dog...what does the dog want? So far, I've seen the dog gnaw at a bird carcass then pounce on and kill a goat...wonder why there are this many goats still here if the dog goes after goats...why would the dog even bother with a bird carcass when it could have a goat...". My mind is stuck on this, because I've been all over the island so I know what's here.

There must be a good way to use what I have:

Tranq rifle with 1 dart Pistol with 1 blank Goat suit Scuba gear Walking stick Folder with info, photos, parchment map Canteen and trail mix Flare gun (but this is only to be used when I find the "significant find")

I feel like once I have that canister everything will make sense, but how to get it?

Put on the goat skin, and go out in the field. Wait for the dog to come to you, then tranq it. Ok, gotta stop by the house and pick up the goat-coat. I like this plan, is there anything else I should take?

Well, definitely the loaded tranq gun. I'm not sure what else might come in handy though. Well I hope that I can get a clean shot with the tranq dart if I can get the dog close enough. If I miss with that and the dog decides to attack, at least if I fired a blank that would scare him off...

All right, bring the tranq gun, goat skin, and pistol out to the field (have another snack/drink first). Get in costume, and wait. Try to tranq the dog. Ok, I did all this and I'm out in the field. At first the goats kept their distance from me, but once I got the goat-coat on and posed as a goat, they seemed not to notice me and have formed a large group around me.

I didn't see any sign of the dog for a while, then there was some movement along the treeline that caught my eye. I'm pretty sure it's the dog, and it is pacing back and forth at the edge of the trees. I've been watching for about half an hour now, and the dog has not come out from among the trees. I wonder if it will only come after stragglers...

Can you try and move away from the goats? Or will they follow you? I've tried moving around some, but it does seem like they are following me, or at least a few of them do

I'm wondering if a blank shot will scare the goats away, but I'm worried it might scare the dog as well. Hmmm...There is only one way to find out - keep in mind though that the dog is several hundred feet away, so the shot won't be nearly as loud where it is standing (and I can move even further away from the treeline, the north end of the island is about 1/2 mile away from the trees, if not a bit further). And based on how the goats reacted to the thunder clap I'd say you have a great idea for dispersing them.

Ooh, I like this idea. Move as far away from the dog as you can, scare the goats with the blank shot, then wait for the dog to come after you and tranq it. Allright - well the plan to disperse the goats worked nicely, I moved near the northern end of the field and several goats moved along with me until I fired the gun, and they all ran away and regrouped in another part of the field.

I kept my eye on the treeline, and for a few minutes I thought the dog had run away. But after a while the dog emerged from the western side of the trees, moving slowly toward me at first and then breaking into a run. I aimed the tranq gun, and before the dog realized I wasn't a real goat it was within 20 feet and I fired, putting the dart into the dog's chest. The dog immediately stopped running, let out a yelp, stumbled around in a circle briefly, then fell to the ground. I wasted no time, but ran to it and poked it with the end of the rifle to make sure it was "out cold." It was, and so I popped open the canister that's attached to the dog's collar. Inside the canister I found a digital watch that is running (shows the time to be 3:24 PM), and a piece of paper with "12:53" printed on it. I don't know how long that tranquilizer will last, so I walked quickly to the fence, through the gate, closed the gate, now I'm walking southward towards the house.

Put the watch on. Do you still have the empty rifle with you? The empty pistol? Did you take the canister? The paper?

Head over to the house and drop off your stuff there. Then go over to the clearing and make sure that the watch is accurate, using your makeshift sundial (we have a marking for 4 o'clock on the sundial, so try and reach the clearing before 4 PM on the watch).

Put the watch on. DoneDo you still have the empty rifle with you? YesThe empty pistol? YesDid you take the canister? No, I couldn't get it detached from the collarThe paper? Yes, I have it

Head over to the house and drop off your stuff there. Ok, I did that, and when I did I discovered that a large waterproof flashlight has been added to my pile of stuff!Then go over to the clearing and make sure that the watch is accurate, using your makeshift sundial (we have a marking for 4 o'clock on the sundial, so try and reach the clearing before 4 PM on the watch). I got to the clearing just before 4 o'clock by the watch, and when the clock showed 4 PM I checked the sundial, and the shadow was only slightly off from the 4, but considering it took me a few minutes after I landed to place the stick, this watch is probably accurate.

Does the watch have an alarm function? If so, walk back to the house, and see how long it takes you to get back (now that you have a watch). Set the alarm for a little bit longer than that before 12:53 (i.e. if it takes you 20 minutes set the alarm to 12:25 or something). Then get over to the clearing at 12:53.

Does the watch have an alarm function? YesIf so, walk back to the house, and see how long it takes you to get back (now that you have a watch). Set the alarm for a little bit longer than that before 12:53 (i.e. if it takes you 20 minutes set the alarm to 12:25 or something). Then get over to the clearing at 12:53. Ok, it's about a 10 minute walk going from clearing to contraption to house, so I plan accordingly. Today (the next day), I got to the clearing at 12:45 and I'm still here. It's 1:14 and so far nothing has happened, nothing has changed around here.

Hmmm...either we swapped AM/PM, or it's not the clearing where we need to be. Try 12:53 AM (if you tried PM before) or PM (if you tried AM before), and go to the clearing. But be ware of anything that might happen elsewhere that we might be able to see or hear.

Hmmm...either we swapped AM/PM, or it's not the clearing where we need to be. Yeah I'd say soTry 12:53 AM (if you tried PM before) or PM (if you tried AM before), and go to the clearing. But be ware of anything that might happen elsewhere that we might be able to see or hear. Ok - I stayed at the clearing for a few more minutes (I arrived at 12:45 PM, by the way), then headed back to the house. When I left the house to go to the clearing I didn't take anything with me, I figured I'd come back and get anything I needed, so...when I got back to the house after leaving the clearing I found that both the pistol and the tranq rifle are gone. I still have everything else here at the house.

I got to the clearing at 12:30 AM and stayed until 1:30 AM, no changes anywhere and nothing happened. I didn't see or hear anything.

So obviously it isn't the clearing we need to be at. Let's see...there's the field, the stable, the very first slope, the rocky beach, and the wooden contraption...am I missing any? The statue with the mysterious stump near it may hold a clue - the rectangular cutout on that stump is almost the exact size of the parchment

There's got to be a clue somewhere about where to go...right? Well if I'm supposed to be somewhere at 12:53 and it's not the clearing it should be one of those places

All right, head over there now. Put the parchment flat in the hole, and see if anything happens. The parchment fits perfectly into the indentation, but it doesn't cause anything to happenIf nothing happens now, try doing that at 12:53. Try 12:53 PM first, since that will come up next. Ok it's 12:53, and the only thing that happens is that the shadow of the extended arm of the statue moves across the stump beginning at around 12:40, and it's completely off of the stump by 1:34. Now I don't know for sure, but I'd say that if that arm hadn't broken off, right around where the "hand" would be would cross directly over the parchment based on its position on the stump. If only I had the rest of that arm...

Is there anything we might be able to use to attach the cane to the arm? Unless the "arm" is pointing somewhere...grrr....That's a good idea. I could probably just hold the cane in place, since I don't think it's quite long enough to duplicate the lost portion of the arm. You bring up a good point about the arm "pointing" somewhere, though...the only way I'll know for sure is to try and locate the portion of the arm that's missing.

Let's see...could you please recap our inventory? (Since things have come and gone, I'm starting to go in circles again.) Now I have the diving gear, the walking stick, flashlight, goatskin, parchment (which is on the stump), watch, piece of paper with "12:53" on it.

Go back to the rocky beach and look in the water. Is the water clear? Moderately clear, yesCan you tell at all how deep it is? I can walk out about 10 feet, then it quickly drops off and I can't tell how deep it goes.

You know, either somebody broke the statue's arm off and took the missing piece, or either it simply snapped off when something fell on it (like a tree branch). I'm obviously getting mysterious help here from someone (the food, the flashlight), so it would seem that instead of my initial thought about the missing arm, perhaps the more likely is the latter...

Can we look all around the statue and see if we can find the missing arm? I think that's a great idea - if the intent of someone is to aid me with my search, then I would think with everything I've accomplished so far this task wouldn't be too difficult.

I headed back to the statue, and noticed that there is a dense clump of bushes to the left and rear of the statue. After poking around for a few minutes in these bushes, I discovered the missing piece of the arm! There was also a rather heavy tree limb in the bush as well, no doubt this fell from a nearby tree and broke the arm and both objects landed in the bush.

The piece of the arm is the same length as the other arm, only it has been made to look like this arm is pointing a flint-lock pistol. The arm/hand/pistol have been created by a combination of looping several vines together and carving a stick. It's fairly heavy, I can hold it up to the elbow to form a nearly perfect fit, but because of the weight of the broken arm piece I cannot hold it steady.

By the way, you mentioned something about using the cane to duplicate the arm...the cane would work perfectly in duplicating the end of the pistol, the stick and the cane are the exact same diameter.

All right, put the cane in the arm so it looks like it's holding a pistol. Are there some other vines nearby? We might be able to tie the arm onto the statue. Or if that doesn't work, try propping it in place with the heavy tree limb.

All right, put the cane in the arm so it looks like it's holding a pistol. Well there's not really a way to do this - I can't remove the existing pistol, because it's all interwoven among the other parts of the hand and armAre there some other vines nearby? I don't see anyWe might be able to tie the arm onto the statue. Or if that doesn't work, try propping it in place with the heavy tree limb. So you're thinking that I need to get the arm back into place? My own arm is the same length from elbow to wrist as the statue's arm piece is, and I only need a few inches of the cane to extend beyond my hand to duplicate the distance from the end of the statue's hand to the end of the pistol...

In that case, use your own arm instead of the statue's, and have your arm in place for the next time 12:53 comes around. Make sure you're holding the cane though, and see if you can make out where the cane is pointing on the parchment.

In that case, use your own arm instead of the statue's, and have your arm in place for the next time 12:53 comes around. Nice thinking

Make sure you're holding the cane though, and see if you can make out where the cane is pointing on the parchment. I held the carved arm next to mine and made sure that I'm duplicating the length from elbow to pistol tip by using the cane. So the next time 12:53 arrived, I was in place, standing behind the statue with my arm extended next to the broken one. The shadow does indeed fall directly over the parchment, and at 12:53 the pistol's tip lands at a place that's off the island on the western side, probably halfway between the sandy beach where I saw the boat and the rocky beach where I found the anchor. I marked the spot by punching a tiny hole in the parchment with a twig, and based on the scale of the map to the actual island, the approximate place is about 200 yards offshore. I'd guess the distance from the sandy beach to the rocky beach to be about 1 mile, and to get to the point on the map I'd have to travel along the island for about 1/2 mile south of the sandy beach then go out for about 200 yards.

Do you think you would be able to swim there? No, swimming would be very difficult due to the choppy water, plus there's not a shore where this spot is, the sandy beach ends as you go south and becomes a cliff.Or would we need the diving gear? Yes, because I have no idea how deep the water is going to be

Is there a boat anywhere? Yes - the statue is at the top of the slope that goes down to the sandy beach where I saw a boat before, and the boat is still there

For some reason, I'm having a feeling that we might need the anchor and rope here. Or that could just be lunch. I don't see an anchor with the boat on the beach. If I'm going to use the boat to get out to the place marked on the map, I'd like to be able to keep the boat from floating away while I'm diving. I have 10 minutes of air in the tank, and even though I know where the place is on the map, I don't know how long it will take to get to the ocean floor or how long I'll have to look around down there for anything.

Do it! :-) Please. :-) Ok I did it, the anchor has been hauled over to the sandy beach with the boat. This is a small motorboat, and there's a metal ring attached to the inside of it, to which I've firmly tied the anchor rope.

Put the anchor in the boat. Load all of your stuff onto the boat as well, then head over to the place marked on the map. Well first of all I must apologize - in my excitement about locating the spot on the map, I misread the place that the shadow indicated. To get to that place I'll need to go from the sandy beach around the south tip of the island (past the rocky beach), to a point that is off the western side of the island. The place will be directly west of the place on the island where the contraption is located, still about 200 yards offshore. I felt I needed to clarify this.

I've taken time to put the diving gear and flashlight into the boat. While I was at the house picking up the gear, I saw that a note had been taped to the flare gun: "Do not use this until the significant find has been brought onto land." So this has me thinking - will I have enough air to locate whatever is at this point below the ocean, and if it's something heavy how am I going to get it to land?

Will the boat float with the combined weight of you, your stuff, and the anchor in it? Yes, but it's doubtful I can add any more weight without capsizing. This is a small lightweight boat and the waves are choppy. If I find anything even slightly heavy I couldn't put it into the boat. Maybe there's another way to get an object to land without even using the boat?

How long can you hold your breath? (Just being careful.) Probably 1 minute, give or take a few seconds

Oh, we have that wooden thing with the broken handle! If we could attach a rope to it, we could use it like a winch to pull the object up! Ah, yes! There's no need to attach a rope to it, keep in mind that it has a very long cable already attached and threaded through the pulley.

Except the handle's broken. Stupid thing. This is true. There used to be a crank handle attached to the side of the pulley, but it's gone and only the hole remains where the wooden handle used to be inserted.

Is there a way we can fit the handle into the hole? No, it's not usable, however...Or - wild thought - might the cane fit into the hole? Not wild at all, it fits perfectly!That might make a makeshift crank, but I doubt it. Don't doubt yourself, the cane will make a perfect handle to use the winch - great idea!

How long is the cable? Long, probably a few hundred feetWill it be able to reach all the way to the marked location? Unless the water is very deep it should reach out that far and to the ocean bottom

Is there anything else we should do before setting out? Well the cable winch and the boat are on opposite sides of the island, so if I'm going to get into the boat and take it around to the opposite side of the island (since I can't swim that far), I need to figure out how to access the cable once I'm ready to dive.

Could we put the end of the cable out on the beach? Or in the water? Yes, I don't need to operate the crank to lower the cable, just to wind it back upCould we bring the boat around, then access the cable? Sure - I let out enough cable to go down the slope to the water's edge, I can bring the boat around and grab the cable and drag it out to the dive site.

All right, let's head over and bring the boat around. Make sure you have your flashlight. And bring the folder etc. with you...maybe there's a clue somewhere. Ok, I have brought the boat and my belongings around to where the hook at the end of the cable is, I grabbed the hook and pulled it along with me out to the site where I believe the mark on the map indicates that I need to go.

Put on your diving gear, and grab your flashlight. And the hook. Ready to go under? Yep, I'm down with that! I dropped the anchor so I wouldn't lose the boat, then jumped into the water with the flashlight in one hand and the hook in the other hand. The watch that I'm wearing is waterproof so I'll know when my 10 minutes of air are gone. The ocean floor is about 20 feet deep here, so 2 minutes of air are gone by the time I reach it. I start searching around with the flashlight, and for several minutes find nothing except some exotic looking fish and some urchins. I start digging around in the sand, and as I near the 3 minute mark of air remaining, my hand hits something hard a few inches below the surface. I quickly dig and move sand away, and reveal a portion of a wooden chest with a curved iron handle attached. I place the hook on the handle, and dig excitedly to remove as much sand around the chest as possible. Shortly, I see that I have 1 minute of air left so I give the handle a hard tug to see if the chest will move, and it does. I hope this has freed it up enough but I'm almost out of air so I kick and head for the surface. My air runs out as I'm swimming upward, but I made it back to open air safely, just a few feet away from the boat.

Head back to shore and use the cane to crank the chest up. I loaded myself and my gear into the boat and headed to the rocky beach on the south tip of the island. As I was heading around the island, I'm almost sure I saw someone standing atop the slope near the rocky beach, but there was no one there when the boat landed. I headed up the slope and in a few minutes I was at the contraption. I started cranking, and at first the crank turned easily, but as the cable went taut I found it impossible to crank further. I strained, but it wouldn't budge - so close, and now this!

I sat down next to the contraption to rest for a minute, and I heard a noise in the trees nearby. I looked up, and suddenly a tall man wearing a wide brimmed had emerged from the path! "Need a hand?" he asked, and as soon as he spoke I realized it was the man from the blimp. He walked over to the crank, took hold of it, then looked at me expectantly. I jumped up and joined him, grabbing the opposite side of the walking stick from him and started to crank. It went slowly, but after many minutes we saw the chest emerge from the water up onto the rocky slope below. The tall man let out a long whistle and said, "Now I'd say that's a fairly significant find, wouldn't you?"

I would! What's in it? That's a good question - I ran/slid down the slope to the chest, and it's approximately 3' x 3' x 4', latched and locked with a key-operated lock (and of course, I don't have any keys that would fit this lock). As I'm contemplating this latest discovery, the tall man taps me on the shoulder with the flare gun and says, "Take my word for it, we'll never get the key."

Umm...so would shooting it with the flare gun open it? (If it won't, don't do that, just asking) Well I don't think it would help (and I may burn myself attempting this)...I was given an instruction concerning the flare gun and the 'significant find', and the tall man is standing there holding the gun...

I'm curious - what type of lock is this? Large, heavy metal lock that requires a keyCould we hammer it open with something? Well... The flashlight would not be sturdy or heavy enough, and the housing would shatter. Then there's the...Flare gun?...which may accidentally go off, possibly causing injury to me or Mr. Too Tall, and also leaving me on the island longer than necessary since I'll have no way to signal. My thoughts on the...Air tank?...are that it won't work, too cumbersome and awkward. Good ideas, though!

Ask him to send off the flare, you found the significant find (I hope!)Or ask him if you can use the gun to do it, as the instructions said for you to. "May I?" I say, and the man smiles and hands me the gun, which I point toward the sky and fire. A bright orange flare travels high into the air. "We knew you could find it," says the man, "Greg and I tried, but kept hitting snags. The man who originally passed the story of El Cerebro along to Brazilian authorities is an ancestor of one of Greg's best friends, but he thought the whole thing was made up. When Greg's friend went to Brazil to attend his uncle's funeral, he found that the uncle had left the parchment map to him in his will. He and Greg decided to investigate and they called me to help. When we got here, all we found was the little house and the statue, plus the goats. Being the avid hunter that he is, Greg had caught the wild dog during a previous outing and decided to bring it here. We found a cave that's in the cliff wall on the northern end of the island - I've been staying there while you've been looking for the chest. Inside the cave we found a skeleton with a large key next to it. We assumed this was El Cerebro, and the key was for the chest. Sadly our lateral thinking skills weren't up to par that day, I stepped toward the skeleton and snagged a tripwire which soon caused that portion of the cave to collapse, so there's little hope of getting to that key, Greg and I barely escaped. We knew that if we had the chest, we could figure out a way to open it.

We got the "12:53" clue another way - someone had apparently figured out that this time was significant and related to the statue. We found that "someone's" body next to the stump by the statue, it was an elderly gentleman who apparently died from a heart attack. Clutched in his hand was a piece of paper with numerous calculations, several sets of Roman numerals, and a rough sketch of the island. Greg thought the numbers indicated longitude and latitude, but we checked the only places on the island that made any sense by that theory and found nothing. Greg used another idea and came up with the time "12:53", but wasn't sure what it meant, so he wrote it on a piece of paper and stuck it in the container along with the watch. Thanks for solving that issue for us!

We got lucky with the pulley - I knew that once (and if) something was found in the water it would need to be hauled up, and I hoped that I had enough cable to get it here, so we built the winch on the western side, figuring the side with the sandy beach would just be too obvious.

Can you pick the lock? Or now that we've fired the flare, can we try hammering the lock with the flare gun? I don't seem to have anything to pick the lock with, so I started to bang on it with the butt of the flare gun when I heard a voice behind me. "Here, let me give you a hand with that," I hear as someone approaches - it is Dr. Wieck himself! He's carrying a welding torch, and he kneels down by the chest and flips a welder's mask over his face and goes to work on the lock. In a few minutes, the lock falls from the chest, and we all gather around it as Dr. Wieck opens it.

********* SPOILER **********

There are indeed various kinds of treasures in the chest - gold coins, highly detailed carvings of ivory, a collection of bracelets that appear to be pure silver and many folded up pieces of silk cloth with gold thread woven into it.

I think this must be a great find indeed, but Dr. Wieck and the tall man are looking at each other with some confusion. "There should be more, Dan," says Dr. Wieck to the tall man (whose name must be Dan). "I agree, there should," says Dan. Then both men stare silently at the chest. "More what?" I ask, and the men both smile just a bit as Dan says, "El Cerebro should have had more than this stashed here. This is indeed a valuable find, it will allow us to buy the island and develop it into a remote resort like we had planned, but it's not all...". His voice trails off as Dr. Wieck digs around in the coins and pulls out a piece of rolled up parchment. As we watch, he unrolls it and studies it for a few minutes. "This is fascinating, Dan, we must contact Luis right away."

I'm still trying to understand all of this when a motorboat pulls up to the slope where we are standing. Dan motions to the man in the boat, who looks familiar, and then points to the chest. "Julius," calls Dan (I knew that guy looked familiar), "give us a hand with this." Julius pulls the boat alongside the rocky land and hops out to join us. He gives me a quick handshake and says, "Nice work...again!" The four of us get the chest into the boat, and Julius turns the boat into the open water and starts moving. "Where are we going?" I ask. "It's a few hours to the nearest land, isn't it?" Dan taps me on the shoulder and points up. I look up and see Daisy (the blimp, not the dog), following along right behind us, and it soon passes us and descends until the bottom of the gondola is only a few feet over the water. Slowly, a large door at the rear of the gondola opens to reveal a cargo area (this is where the large table with the characters were seated was when I boarded the blimp earlier), and "Tatter" is inside the cargo area. He motions for Julius to move the boat closer to the gondola, and when we are just a few feet from the end of the large door, Tatter tosses a rope to Dan, who is sitting in the front of the boat. Dan ties the rope to a metal ring inside the boat, and Julius turns the motor off and raises it out of the water. Tatter pushes a button, and the boat is slowly tugged out of the water, up the ramp made by the cargo door, and into the gondola safely. Tatter pushes another button and the door closes.

As we climb out of the boat, Dr. Wieck pulls me aside and shows me the parchment that he has found. It's a map of South America, and there is a dotted line drawn from the eastern coast of Brazil down into Chile. The dotted line ends near some upside-down triangles that have been drawn on the map. "It's the Andes. My friend Luis suspected that the "lost sailor of El Cerebro" wasn't just a lost sailor, he had been sent to Brazil by El Cerebro with a good portion of the treasure, in case anyone ever did find the part that El Cerebro hid, he didn't want them to have all of it. Luis has been doing some research and has found clues linking this island to the lost sailor, and the lost sailor to someone in Chile. We thought that perhaps this "someone" lived near the Chile/Argentina border in or near the Andes, and this parchment map seems to indicate the same thing."

The rest of the trip is filled with stories from Dan, Julius and "Tatter" (who I find to be actually named Dino) about past trips they have taken and what they know about South America. It is interesting, but the island trip has worn me out and I doze off during one of Dan's tales about the rain forest...

I wake up when Dino taps me on the head with a cell phone. "We're here!" he yells, then grabs a backpack and exits the gondola. As I walk outside, the men are all talking excitedly on cell phones and Dino puts all of their belongings (and the chest) into the back of a van and closes the door. Dr. Wieck walks up to me and hands me a card. "It's going to take us time to get things ready, but we want to get down to the Andes soon and find the rest of the treasure. There's my phone number, so call me when you're ready to join us, we'll wait until you can come along since you seem to be good at this kind of thing. And don't worry, you'll be rewarded for your work finding the chest. So long for now!" He turns and goes to the van, gets inside and closes the door as the van drives away.